1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooking stoves and to methods of using same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a gas stove including an invertible support rack, to an invertible support rack with dual cooking surfaces, and to methods of using the described stove and support rack.
2. Description of the Background Art
Gas-fired grills and stoves are widely used in the fields of residential and commercial cooking. In particular, outdoor gas grills, using compressed gaseous fuel such as propane, LPG or LNG are commercially available, and are commonly used for barbecue-style cooking.
A conventional outdoor gas grill generally includes a burner element positioned beneath heat-tolerant lava rocks or briquettes, and a grate or grilling surface, positioned above the burner assembly and briquettes. Aside from their general construction, the previously known outdoor gas grills can differ significantly in size, and can also differ as to what options a particular outdoor grill may include.
By way of example, an outdoor grilling apparatus may be stationary with removable grilling units (U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,265), portable, incorporating swing-out food and briquette grates (U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,792), or may include a height-adjustable work shelf attached to a main grill body (U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,080).
Additionally, some of the known outdoor gas stoveing apparatus may be equipped with a burner unit and associated support rack, similar to that of a kitchen range/cooktop, capable of cooking or warming food in a cooking utensil, such as a pot or pan.
Several variants of outdoor gas grills, incorporating at least one burner unit, are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,886,045, 6,067,978 and 6,192,878.
Additional examples of known outdoor cooking stoves include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,825,325, 4,726,350, 4,759,339, 5,979,431, and 6,131,561.
Other examples of stoves, burners and adapters particularly designed for use with woks include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. D265,882, D463,215, 4,062,341, 4,313,416, 4,530,345, 4,607,613, 5,158,067, 5,558,008, and 6,189,530.
Although the known devices have some utility for their intended purposes, a need still exists in the art for an improved stove and vessel support rack which can be adapted to support cooking utensils having different shapes. In particular, there is a need for an improved cooking stove and vessel support rack which can be adapted to alternately support flat-bottomed cooking pans and woks with rounded bases.